Roll cutting and slicing dispenser

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and system for dispensing thermoplastic and other heat sensitive sheets supplied from rolls. The apparatus is characterized by multiple, adjustable cutting or perforating elements which can vary the width of the sheets as it is being dispensed. The apparatus contains a heat cutting element characterized by its non-contacting relationship with the sheet being severed.

United States Patent [19] Webster et a1.

1 Jan. 1, 1974 1 ROLL CUTTING AND SLICING DISPENSER [76] Inventors: David P. Webster, Box 143,

Crownsville, Md. 21032; John A. Seward, 128 Archwood Ave., Annapolis, Md.

22 Filed: Dec. 20, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 209,581

[52] 11.5. C1 225/94, 83/171, 219/221, 219/243, 225/935, 225/96, 225/106 [51] Int. Cl. B26d 9/00, B26f 3/02, B26f 3/12 [58] Field of Search 225/106, 7, 20, 93.5, 225/94, 96.5; 83/171, 16; 219/68, 214, 243, Y 221 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Andina 219/243 UX 3,131,278 4/1964 Rosenthal 83/171 X 3,134,005 5/1964 Mayhew 83/171 3,169,430 2/1965 Mallie et al.. 83/171 X 3,177,748 4/1965 Rosenthal 83/171 3,291,963 12/1966 Wetzel 219/243 3,452,511 7/1969 Hoffler 83/171 X 'Primary Examiner-Frank T. Yost Attorney-.1. Gibson Semmes 57] ABSTRACT An apparatus and system for dispensing thermoplastic and other heat sensitive sheets supplied from rolls. The apparatus is characterized by multiple, adjustable cutting or perforating elements which can vary the width of the sheets as it is being dispensed. The apparatus contains a heat cutting element characterized by its non-contacting relationship with the sheet being severed.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUJM; 1mm

sum 1 OF 3 INVENTORS JOHN A SEWARD DAVlD P WEBSTER ATTOR NEY PATENTEB 1W 3.782.615

sum 3 GF 3 INVENTORS 48 JOHN A. SEWARD DAVID P WEBSTER ATTORNEY a 1 ROLL CUTTING AND SLICING DISPENSER PRIOR ART contact with the thermoplastic material are, for example, taught by Rosenthal, US. Pat. Nos. 3,131,278 and 3,177,748, Mayhew, U.S. Pat. No. 3,l34,005,'and Fehr et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,039. These apparatuses, however, necessarily burn the material being cut and must expose, to some degree, an extremely heated wire which is usually electrically charged, in addition. Such an arrangement can result in burn or shock injury to the careless operator, burning 'of the materialto be cut, and wear on the electrically charged heated wire. Apparatuses for slitting thermoplastic sheets which provide transversely adjustable cutting elements are also taught as, for example, by Bockrath et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,781,839. Atanasoff'et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,535,029 and Judelson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,756,819 also teach heated knives for slitting thermoplastic sheeting. These devices all employ multiple heating units in complicated arrangements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a'view of the invention, showing a roll of sheet material thereon;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side elevational view of the serrating element;

FIG. 3 illustrates an angle view of the heat-cutting element;

FIG. 4 illustrates a side elevational view of the cutting elements showing cutting or serrating element shields;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a system for dispensing large sheets of paper or plastic or the like, assembled usually in roll form, in an effective manner, providing strips of the paper to the operator in individually selected lengths as well as individually selected widths. In achieving this result, the

' present invention proposes an apparatus that possesses only one electrical heating element, and multiple cutting, slitting' or perforating components at once well shielded from human operators and easily and instantaneously adjustable by such operators. In FIGS. 1 and 7 are shown angle views of alternative forms of the apparatus. A box or standard cover container 10 holds a roll 12 of a strip of plastic or paper sheet 14 by virtue of freely rotating axial rod 16 positioned within the standard outside cover 10, reference FIG. 7.

Serrating or perforating elements 1 are resiliently mounted, as by springs 3, reference FIG. 2. The springs 3 as shown are thin resilient steel springs which maintain a downward tension on aluminum holders 2 on which are mounted the serrating elements I. As shown, the serrating elements I are disc-shaped. Although as used in experimentation the serrating elements 1 do not rotate within holders 2, it should nevertheless be obvious to those skilled in the art that such a disc could be made to so rotate. The springs 3 are mounted on a rack or shield 4.

The serrating elements 1 have an abrasive edge, which is held by the springs 3 onto the table 5 over which the heat sensitive sheet 14 is extracted. When pulling the sheet l4therebetween, the sheet 14 is serrated by the abrasive edge of the disc I so that later an operator can easily separate the sheet 14 lengthwise to the desired width. The serrating elements 1 need not be disc-shaped, but could be of any shape so long as the edge or tip which is resting on the table 5 is abrasive.

The width can be varied and regulated by means of a cam shape rod 33 rotatably fixed transversely to the direction of sheet 14 extraction. The rod 33 has therein depressions 6. When the rod 33 is rotated into a position so that the springs 3 and holders 2 are engaged by the depressions 6, the abrasive serrators l are pressed firmly against the table 5 with the sheet 14 thereon. If the rod 33 is rotated, as with rotating handle 7, the springs 3 and holder 2 engage the circumference of the rod 33 and are elevated. Thus, the abrasive edge of the serrators l are elevated out of contact with the table 5 and sheet 14. It will be appreciated that the serrating elements 1 can be arranged so that in one position, the

serrating elements 1 will perforate the sheet 14 into four equal parts as the sheet is being pulled through the apparatus. Should the rod 33 be rotated 90 or other appropriate amount, the set of serrating elements 1 dividing the sheet 14 into four equal parts will be removed from the path of sheet movement, and a set of serrators I dividing the sheet 14 into three equal parts will be placed thereon. Any combination of lengthwise portions can be set by carefully positioning the serrating elements I laterally on the rod 34. The serrating elements 1 could be mounted so that they could be laterally adjustable to the desired spacing.

The sheet 14 can be threaded into the cover It) around freely rotating fixed axial roller 18 and around freely rotating roller 20, having a free end 22 at an provide a counter-pull to pull of the operator extracting the sheet from the container 10. It has been discovered that if the interior-most top edge 27 of the heat shield 25 is coated with a frictional substance or structure which when the sheet 22 is pressed upon it will provide a holding or frictional action, the necessary counterforce to the pulling action of the operator is exerted. The substance or structure 40 could be a frictional substance such as rubber or the like, as shown in FIG. 6, or it could be a serrated-edge protruding upward from the top edge 27, as shown in FIG. 5. Both devices have proved satisfactory in practice.

Alternatively, the apparatus could be arranged as shown in FIGI-7 wherein fixed'transversely to the path of sheet 14 within the Container 10 is a rod 34 having positioned thereon a plurality of cutting tools 36. The cutting tools 36 are shown in FIG. 4, wherein they are rotatably mounted on rod 34 so as to cut the sheet 14 in the direction of the sheet 14 movement generally indicated by'the arrows 38.

The cutting elements 36 are so mounted on the rod 34 so that when the rod 34 is turned or rotated, the cutting elements 36 are rotated. Multiple cutting elements 36 are arranged in a. similar width-wise relationship as are the serrati'ng elements 1 described above. Selection of thewidthof the dispensed sheet 14 can be made by rotating the rod 34, in a similar manner to rotating the rod 33 above.

Over the serrators 1 or cutting elements 36, positioned so as to protect an operator from injury or the like is placed a hand shield 42. The hand shield 42 has at its foremost edge openings or spaces 44 so that an operator can insert his hand safely to grab the sheet 14.

. A vertical shield 46 could be connected to shield 42 so as to prevent the operator from inserting his hands laterally into the serrating or cutting element environment of the-apparatus. Thus, the operator while inserting his hands into the interior of the apparatus to grab the sheet, will not be in danger of having his hands out accidentally by the cutting elements.

The sheet 14 is pulled over an electrically conductive heat-radiating filament wire 26 surrounded on three sides by heat shield 25 having an open side toward the top and toward the sheet 14 passing over it. The heat shield 25 is mounted onto the floor 50 of container 10 by means of springs 48, shown in FIGS. 8 and 3. The

heat emanating from electrically heat conductive filament wire 26 that the cohesive bonds therein are substantially weakened. In 'a right-to-left manner, the operator pulls on the sheet 14. The sheet 14 will be transversely severed by the combined forces on the heat weakened paper or plastic 14 and the downward pull of the operator, as illustrated in FIG. 6. If so employed, the substance 40 will exercise a holding or counterforce .on the sheet 14, as explained, and will aid in the lateral severence thereof. A resulting extracted and distinct strip of paper or plastic is thus produced which is of the proper width, length and possesses sharp, clean, and non-bumt edges. It can be seen that the relative sizes and tensions in the various springs 48, or other resilient materials, for example, foam 52, can be varied so as to produce the desired effect.

The amount of heat supplied by the electrically heatconductive filament wire 26 should be such as will suban environment which is hot and humid and another set of dimensions for an environment that is cooler and drier, and so on.

This invention can also be practiced by providing a heat source within the heat shield 25. It is the concentration of heat within a relatively short longitudinal space that produces the severing as practiced herein.

shield 25 could as easily, and for some applications more efficiently, be mounted onto the floor 50' of the container 10 by means of foam strip 52 as shown in FIG. 5, or any other equivalent resilient material. Such foam strips could be in multiple sections spaced apart one from each other as shown, or could be in one elongated strip.

The size and tension strength of springs 48, foam 52, or other resilient-members, are chosen so that at rest, without any, external or'human forces being added, the uppermost open ends edges 27, 29 of the heatshield 25 are vertically higher than the heat wire 26 and uppermost edges 54 of the front panel 11 of container 10. The size and tension strength are also chosen so that when normal external or human forces are applied to the sheet 14 in a downward direction, as shown in FIG.

- 6, the sheet 14 never comes into physical contact with heat wire 26.

If desired, the apparatus could also include a braking mechanism to brake the roll 12 or, if desired, to completely stop the roll.

An operator pulls the sheet 14 by the end 22 from the open end 24 of container 10. When the desired length has been extracted, the operator then moves the paper or plastic sheet end 22 downward, forcing the sheet 14 downward into contact with the top edge 54 of the front panel 11 of the container 10. This movement of sheet 14 downward forces heat shield 25 downward so that its uppermost edges 27, 29 become horizontally level with top edge 54, as shown in FIG. 6. At this moment, the paper or plastic sheet 14 between the two uppermost edges 27 of the heat shield 25 is so heated by Thus, in lieu of a wire 26, a concentrated jet of forced hot air could provide the necessary heat requisite to weaken the sheet 14, to the degree as aforementioned.

Other heat applicators and concentrators could be so employed as, possibly, even a controlled flame. The heat shield 25 could be so constructed as to have its upper edges 27 protruding inwardly so as to concentrate the heat in the space therebetween going tothe sheet 14.

It can be appreciated that the specific embodiments described herein can be varied'so as to suit particular circumstances, and in so doing will not depart from the concepts described herein. So, for example, the braking mechanism described for the supply roll 12 of paper or plastic sheet 14 could be adapted to brake instead of, or in addition to, the tension roller 20 or any other element coming in contact with the sheet 14 prior to severing. Another modification, but remaining within the scope of the concepts of this invention, would be the remote automatic manipulation of the cuttingslitting elements 36. Additionally, the container could be so constructed so that its uppermost edge 54 of the front panel 11 could be vertically lower than the position of heat filament wire 26. In line with this construction, the springs 48, or foam strip 52, or other suitable substitute, could be constructed with such force so that A. a container frame having means for mounting said strip of heat sensitive material, means for paying said heat sensitive material out from said strip mounting means and means for dispensing said heat sensitive sheets from said container frame;

B. means for at least weakening the strip of heat sensitive material, said weakening means in selective engageablc contact with said sheet; whereby the strip may' be separated into preselected widths;

C. a concentrated heat source positioned transversely to said strip of said heat sensitive material at the dispensing end of said container, said heat source positioned during operation in physically non-contacting relation to said heat sensitive strip frictional substance is a serrated edge. 

1. An apparatus for dispensing heat sensitive sheets from a strip of heat sensitive material, comprising: A. a container frame having means for mounting said strip of heat sensitive material, means for paying said heat sensitive material out from said strip mounting means and means for dispensing said heat sensitive sheets from said container frame; B. means for at least weakening the strip of heat sensitive material, said weakening means in selective engageable contact with said sheet, whereby the strip may be separated into preselected widths; C. a concentrated heat source positioned transversely to said strip of said heat sensitive material at the dispensing end of said container, said heat source positioned during operation in physically non-contacting relation to said heat sensitive strip as said strip is paid out from said mounting means; and D. a heat shield mounted within said container frame substantially enclosing said heat source, said shield having a gap therein, the gap having interior and exterior open edges, whereby said heat source is exposed to said strip of heat sensitive material and wherein said heat shield includes a frictional substance positioned on the interior open edge of said gap, said substance adapted to frictionally engage saId strip.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frictional substance is a serrated edge. 